As the mantra goes, defense wins championships.
For Fairfield, defense was the main key, as the Lady Eagles rode a late 9-2 run in the fourth quarter which provided a huge boost to win their second state title in three years with a 60-54 victory.
“All year, they’ve known that this was the expectation they’ve handled that pressure to get back to this point and fight today to win,” Fairfield head coach Sally Whittaker said.
The state title caps an impressive streak of 39 games and averaging 71 points per game offensively throughout the season.
For Fairfield, it was an emotional victory against a team that dominated on the offensive glass.
Second chance points were key for for Winnsboro in order to stay within the game, scoring 19 points off of 23 rebounds and proved to be a key point for them to maintain within striking distance.
Despite out-rebounding Fairfield 23-13 and scoring 19 points off of rebounds, A Faith Sechrist three looked to have sparked some momentum in the late stages of the game and with Fairfield going zero-for-eight in the final 52 seconds.
“We had a great year,” junior post Faith Acker said. “It sucks [losing]. We just got to work even harder next year, come back and get what we want.”
Acker, a junior post, finished with an impressive double-double, scoring a game high 24 points and 19 rebounds while shooting 11-from-17 from the field.
Fairfield’s Breyunna Dowell, who picked up MVP honors, finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five steals in a big effort in big plays for the Lady Eagles.
Facing a six-point deficit into the fourth quarter, Winnsboro fought back with the help of an Acker jumpber down low. Halle Darst got a layup of her own along with a Acker put-back to put Winnsboro in prime position to take the lead.
Fairfield showed their experienced in a key stretch, forcing three turnovers that was the fuel to the big run in the fourth and Fairfield did what they are known for this year, running the floor in transition.
“Because we were missing them, we knew we needed to rebound,” McKinna Brackens said.
